The application of national technical regulations and standards of construction works in mekong delta

NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC

nNgày nhận bài: 22/01/2021 nNgày sửa bài: 8/02/2021 nNgày chấp nhận đăng: 02/03/2021

The application of national technical
regulations and standards of construction
works in mekong delta
> DO THI MY DUNG (Ph.D)
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mien Tay Construction University.
Email:
LAM THANH QUANG KHAI (Ph.D)
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mien Tay Construction University.
Email:

ABSTRACT
Now, the standard issue has been of concern to countries, international organizations and companies. Therefore, this issue has been
mentioned in many works and research projects of different organizations and individuals. Besides, in the context of international
economic integration, some countries also have researches to develop and improve their national standard system. In Vietnam, the
construction industry plays a pioneering role in the cause of national construction and national development. The system of regulations
and standards of the construction industry is also developing in association with the development of the industry. Currently, the system
of construction regulations and standards has basically met the industry's development requirements. However, the application and
compilation still have some shortcomings, in this study, the authors focus on studying some issues of the application of regulations and
standards in construction and design of constructon works in Mekong Delta.
Keywords: standards, regulations, design, construction works, construction standards, Mekong Delta.
1. INTRODUCTION
The system of standards and regulations is the technical
corridor, playing an important role in shaping the existence and
development of construction works. At the same time, they are
also very important legal tools commonly used in construction
activities towards green criteria, saving resources, energy,
environmental protection, sustainable development, protect

national security, ensure investment efficiency from planning,
survey, design, construction to exploitation. The system of
standards and regulations also contributes to enhancing the role
of State management in construction activities, ensuring the safety
and health of people, and property of the State and people.
However, the application of standards and regulations in practice
is still inadequate, requiring in-depth studies to solve this problem.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The system of standards and technical regulations of Vietnam
and the current construction industry comply with law 68:2006
[12], which stipulates:
Standard means a provision on technical properties and
management requirements used as a standard to classify and
evaluate products, services, processes, the environment and other

52

03.2021

ISSN 2734-9888

objects in socio-economic activities in order to improve the quality
and efficiency of these subjects. Construction standards are the
regulations on technical standards, economic - technical norms,
the order of performing technical works, criteria, competent
organizations for promulgation or accreditation, for application in
construction activities. Construction standards include compulsory
and encouraged standards. In Vietnam, construction standards are
issued by the Ministry of Construction.
Technical regulation is a provision on the limit of technical

characteristics and management requirements that products,
goods, services, processes, environment and other objects in
socio-economic activities must compliance to ensure safety,
hygiene and human health; protect animals, plants, the
environment; protection of national security and interests,
consumer interests and other essential requirements. Construction
regulations are compulsory regulations applied in construction
activities promulgated by competent state management agencies
in charge of construction. These are the minimum technical
requirements that must be followed for all construction activities
and the building solutions and standards used to achieve those
requirements.


However, each country has different construction codes
because there are different regulations for specifications for each
building. When designing a construction work in any country, the
designer must pay attention to the construction codes of that
country in order to design the work in accordance with
regulations. Besides construction codes, construction standards
are also an issue that needs to be consulted in the design work.
The current system of construction standards in Vietnam consists
of 11 volumes with 1007 standards [Vietnamese construction
standards], mainly in areas such as planning, surveying,
construction surveying, design, and installation of equipment for
construction works, construction materials, construction and
acceptance, labor safety, etc. However, in reality, the application of
standards in construction projects still has many shortcomings.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Application of design standards in construction works

in the Mekong Delta
The system of standards and regulations of the construction
industry in the field of design plays an important role in the
development of a country. Therefore, this system of regulations
and standards is very necessary to have a standard quality to avoid
inconvenience when the related units check the design as well as
verify the design, especially not creating loopholes, in order to
eliminate negative thoughts in applying design codes and
standards to create substandard works.
According to Vietnam's Construction Standards, construction
works, whether high or low-rise, small or large, low to high grade,
must be designed to ensure structural safety, fire safety,
environment for users. In addition, based on the standards and
regulations, the designers design works to meet the urban
landscape architecture on the basis of conformity with the urban
zoning planning, detailed planning, urban design regulations on
management of urban architectural planning on: minimum area
and setback space; height, density, accessibility to traffic, static
traffic and regulations on fire prevention and fighting, etc. current
design standards are encouraged to apply, compliance is not
strictly required.
However, in Vietnam, there is rarely any manager who thinks in
accordance with the standard spirit that most of them rely on to
"arrest" experts. Design standards are the legal documents of the
managers as well as a bridge for parties to easily reach consensus.
Therefore, it is very necessary to have a system of quality, complete
and accurate documents and design standards. This helps to keep
parties free from conflicts. Nowadays, sometimes just because of
different words and methods of application, it leads to an
inaccessible work, need to explain, take a long time arguing, plus a

lot of troubles. All of this is happening every day in the design
consultancy and verification and appraisal of construction
investment projects across the provinces in our country.
Through investigation and evaluation from relevant topics and
projects, it is possible to give some comments on the system of
Vietnamese standards and regulations in the field of design as
follows:
Standards and regulations have been slowly researched and
reformed, so they cannot meet the requirements of the society.
Most of these standards were compiled from a long time ago, with
a very long shelf life (some from 1975). Only a small portion of the
benchmarks are implemented on a 5-year cycle review roadmap.
This is due to limited resources and changes in management
decentralization, which prolongs the time to compile and publish
the standard.

Content of regulations and standards is slow to be reformed,
not keeping up with actual requirements; Some contents cannot
be applied in the current economic and technical conditions.
Content between documents still overlaps, contradicts, lacks
uniformity and consistency; The consensus has not been reached
among related parties. Due to mainly relying on foreign
regulations and standards, many contents of regulations and
standards do not take into account natural conditions
(topography, geology, hydrology), socio-economic conditions
among regions, consultancy and construction qualifications in
Vietnam. The new regulations are only responsive and suitable for
new construction investment projects. Some standardized objects
such as high-rise buildings, large-space buildings, ecological
works, green buildings, climate change response works and sea

level rise have not been mentioned and research.
The content of the regulations and standards are sometimes
general, sometimes too detailed, so it is difficult to apply. Many of
the contents of regulations and standards are of administrative
management, so they are not consistent with a technical
document. The degree of harmony between the national standard
system and that of the international standard system remains low.
While Vietnam has been a member of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) since 2006. This impedes competitiveness in
the market economy and reduces the ability to access foreign
investment projects.
Design solutions do not take into account current
environmental friendly and sustainable architectural trends such
as green buildings, energy efficient buildings, and climate change
response works by QCVN 09:2017/BXD [1] takes effect from June 1,
2018, so these tools are being updated, supplemented and
announced in the near future, although there is a manual guiding
the application of QCVN 09:2017/BXD, however, because the initial
investment cost is higher than conventional works, so investors
have little choice. In addition, the consulting capacity in many
localities is limited, do not have in-depth knowledge of energysaving projects, on the other hand design consultancy is only the
proponent of solutions, the investor is the person. decide to
choose the option, so it is necessary to expand QCVN 09:2017/BXD
training to investors.
TCVN 5574:2018 [10] is replaced with TCVN 5574:2012, many
new points deserve attention in TCVN 5574:2018, including
changing the stress model to strain model (the assumption of a flat
cross-section is accepted) when calculating the cross-section of a
member. This model is recommended to preferably be used to
calculate the limit states (first and second) for components

subjected to bending moment and axial force. For components
with simple cross-section shapes (rectangular, T, I), it is still allowed
to use the limited internal force method with adjustment. In
addition, the changes are also related to calculation of shear,
puncture, local compression, torsion, etc.
The structure in TCVN 5574:2018 is not the same as the
structure TCVN 5574:2012, in the new standard, there are 3
separate parts for concrete structures, non-prestressed reinforced
concrete and prestressed reinforced concrete. The set of standards
is divided into 11 parts and appendices, covering the scope of
application; Vietnamese-manual documents; Terms, definitions
and symbols; General requirements for concrete and reinforced
concrete structures; Requirements for calculation of structures of
concrete and reinforced concrete; Materials for concrete and
reinforced concrete structures; Concrete structure; Nonprestressed reinforced concrete structure; Prestressed reinforced

ISSN 2734-9888

03.2021

53


NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC

concrete structure; Structure requirements; Requirements for
restoration and reinforcement of reinforced concrete structures;
Calculation of fatigue reinforced concrete structures. In addition,
annexes A to M discuss the relationship between compressive
strength of concrete with standard compressive strength and

average compressive strength respectively; Deformation charts of
concrete (full deformation charts); Guidance on the application of
some types of reinforcement; Detailed calculation preset;
Structural system calculation; Calculate the column of annular and
circular cross-section; Calculation of concrete bolts; Calculate short
consol; Calculation of semi-assembled structures; Considering the
reinforcement restraining the horizontal strain when calculating
the components subjected to radial compression according to the
nonlinear strain model; Deflection and displacement; Working
mode groups of crane type crane and suspension crane.
Due to the characteristics of buildings in the Mekong Delta
almost have the same common feature: constructing on soft
ground, The soft soil in the Mekong Delta actually belongs to the
weak clay because the clay particle content in this soft soil in most
of the territory has enough clay particle content to conclude that
the clay is weak. Weak clay in the Mekong Delta has a secondary
mineral that accounts for a large amount, Montmorillonite (Al2O3
4SiO2 H2O). Montmorillonite mineral has strong activity because it
has negative external charge with very large electrostatic
absorption energy, hundreds of kN/m2. In TCVN 10304:2014 [11]
regulates the formulas for calculating the load capacity of the pile
according to the strength criteria of the ground soil:
- For sticky soil ( = 0): bearing unit friction load between the
ground and pile f i    C u,i
- For discrete land (C = 0): bearing unit friction load between
the ground and pile

,

fi k i  v,z  tgi

However, for the soils in the Mekong Delta, mainly soft soil
with shear strength characteristic value (C,   0), no calculation
formula is found.
When calculating the pile load capacity according to physical
criteria: in table qb (Table 2 for press piles, Table 7 for bored piles):
there is no value when the cohesive soil under the pile tip has IL <0
and IL> 0.6. Section 7.2.2.2 requires to get SCT value of pile
according to CPT. However, some projects do not have CPT data. In
table fi (table 3 for pile and bored pile): not valid when the soil
around the pile has IL> 1.
Section 4.9 in TCVN 10304:2014 stipulates that pile foundation
working in saline intrusion environment should be designed
according to the requirements of TCVN 5337:1991, TCVN
5338:1991 and TCVN 9346:2012 (corrosion standards). however,
currently in design very little is done.
For the road and bridge construction industry, Standards
22TCN 262:2000, Design standards for motorways TCVN 4054:2005
[5], Expressway design standards TCVN 5729:2012 [6] are design
processes. The regulations for the new design routes have not
been mentioned or there are guidelines for the design of the
roadbed for upgrading and expanding.
For the construction of irrigation works, there are still a number
of old standards that have not been updated, leading to difficulties
in design, construction and management. For example, the
standard of hydrological calculation C6-77 has been issued for a
long time, now the flow concentration coefficients, rain model
coefficients, etc. are not consistent with reality (rain is now impact
of climate change, there are many unusual factors that have not
been taken into account, the current vegetation cover is no longer

54

03.2021

ISSN 2734-9888

the same as before, so the flow concentration coefficient has
increased many times, etc.). Therefore, when the design unit takes
a higher coefficient to suit the reality, it will increase the scale of
the work, the appraisal unit will have no basis for appraisal, but on
the contrary, if it does not take the increase, then will endanger the
project.
Or currently, standards for waterproof drilling for earth dams
are not available, but only standards for drilling waterproof
treatment for dikes and standards for drilling for waterproofing for
foundations under dams. This leads to difficulties in quality control
when drilling the dam body. In the past 2 years, many earth dams
in Vietnam have had to be drilled and constructed, especially dam
repair and improvement project (WB8 project), but design,
construction and management have met a lot of hard.
When making roads on the dyke surface, the current standards
on the road side have many points that cannot be applied to the
side of the dyke surface (such as design speed, design curvature
radius, design load etc. because the existing dyke should comply
with the current status).
In TCVN 8216:2018 [7] on design of earth dams still exist many
issues: Definition of dam height is the part that takes into account
the top of the embankment or includes the top of the breakwater,
this may change the grade of the work in a number of specific

projects, leading to a change in the design criteria; Or the dam
height as defined in the standard is “calculated from the lowest
part of the foundation pit excluding the tray feet”. In some cases
(such as mountainous areas), the lowest part of the foundation pit
at the downstream side is 1-1.5m from the bottom of the tray foot,
if calculated from this point, the height of the dam is also changed
and the construction level; The required design permeability
coefficient of earth dam is >10-4, but based on the testing of
embankment soil in the laboratory or equal to how many % of the
test in the laboratory, it is not clear (in practice when designing
Many projects are only equal to 80% of the laboratory permeability
coefficient, but this has no basis).
TCVN 8474:2018 [8] on topographic survey of irrigation works.
Shortcomings for in-field irrigation dredging and embankment
dredging. The work of measuring, horizontal and vertical section
on land and water. Survey costs are very high when investing in
construction design survey costs are higher than construction
costs. Due to high costs, a number of districts issue a resolution of
the People's Council to stipulate the rate of contract at a cheaper
cost. Typically, Thap Muoi district regulates 5 millions/1km of
topographic survey (while the standard is more than 3 times
higher than the prescribed standard about 18 millions/1km).
Regulations on construction permits are specified in the
construction law 2014 [13], however, for riverside and coastal
constructions, there is no specific regulation that each province
People's Committee will have specific rules. Example: According to
Article 2 of Decision 47/2015/QD-UBND promulgating the
regulation on the protection scope of irrigation works and dykes in
Soc Trang province, there are regulations on the protection scope
of irrigation works, such as submerged canals, rivers, ditches

(collectively referred to as canals), the protection scope of works is
calculated from the edge of the canal to each side, specifically as
follows:
- Channel 1 level or channel with channel surface width,
(B≥25m), the minimum protection range of channel is 20 meters.
- Channel 2 level or channel with channel surface width
(B≥15m to <25m), minimum channel protection scope is 15
meters.


- Channel 3 level or channel with channel surface width (B≥8m
to <15m), minimum channel protection scope is 10 meters.
- In-field channel or channel has channel surface width (B<8m),
minimum channel protection range is 5 meters.
Although each province has regulations on a coastal
protection corridor, however, in fact, people in the Mekong Delta
often encroach on the coastal protection corridor, leading to many
landslides, causing a lot of loss of property and people.
The Construction Law also stipulates that the construction of
works is to have a construction permit, but many projects when
starting construction without the construction permit of the
competent state agency. Or construction illegally (wrongly) is
when the construction is not in accordance with the construction
permit issued by the People's Committee of the district or
province.
3.2. Application of construction standards in construction
works in the Mekong Delta
Construction the works: is the construction and installation of
equipment for new construction works, repair, renovation,
relocation, remodel; construction demolition; warranty and

maintenance works. After completing the steps of architectural
design, structural design and interior design and related
procedures, the selection of a reasonable construction contractor
is the top concern for the investor. Most investors choose the
construction units through the introduction of friends, relatives,
acquaintances without paying attention to certain criteria. So how
can we choose a construction contractor wisely and intelligently so
that the end products are quality works.
The activities of standardization in the construction of works
recently have really become an effective tool to help managers
have a basis for technical management, work quality, construction
progress construction costs as well as safety in construction.
Due to the geological characteristics of the Mekong Delta and
the large land area, most of the construction works are mostly lowrise, construction units often use TCVN: 4453:1995 [4], however, at
present, this standard has some inappropriate content such as:
TCVN 4453:1995, Section 6.1.1 stipulates, for grade 100 concrete
(durability level 10MPa), a ready-made spreadsheet in annex C may
be used in the standard; For concrete grade 150 (15Mpa) or more,
the material composition in concrete must be designed through a
laboratory (calculating and casting test samples) to check, this
work must be done at centers and laboratories have LAS-XD. The
28-day compressive strength of the standard, graded laboratory
sample must be at least 10% greater than the specified design
strength of the concrete. However, due to the characteristics of the
Mekong Delta region, the skills of the workers are mostly not
through formal training, but mainly experience and the quality of
current input materials has decreased. actual construction is not
small (may be more than 10%). While in developed countries it is
specified that the results of the laboratory sample compression
must be at least 20% higher than the specified design strength

level.
Clause b, Article 6.1.2 specifies the slump or hardness of
concrete mixture determined depending on the properties of the
building, the content of the reinforcement, the transport method,
the weather conditions. When choosing the slump of the concrete
mixture to design, it is necessary to calculate the slump loss during
storage and transport. The slump of the concrete mixture at the
pouring position can be referenced in Table 11. Article 6.1.3.
Calibration of concrete components at site. The adjustment of
concrete components at the site is carried out in accordance with

the principle of not changing the water/cement ratio of the
designed concrete component. When the aggregate is wet, reduce
the amount of mixing water, keeping the required slump. When it
is necessary to increase the slump of the concrete mixture to suit
the construction conditions, it is possible to add water and cement
at the same time to keep the water/cement ratio.
However, in the actual construction, the construction unit to
achieve the specified slump usually only adds water, leading to the
concrete mixture with slump, but the discrete concrete mixture,
the cement water will flow through the coffa slot. when the
hardened concrete structure is pitted. Constructing progress TCVN
4055:2012 has regulated that all construction works before starting
construction and installation must have design of construction
organization and design of construction methods for construction
and installation. Some professional contractors will provide the
investor with a clear construction plan full of contents:
construction methods, construction time to complete and and
handing over works, specifying how much delay is maximum. This
can be considered as one of the most prominent criteria for

evaluating the contractor's unit quality. However, at present, many
contractors rely on the relationship to get the work, so there is no
design of construction organization or the determination of the
construction time in the contract, leading to the construction time
exceeding contract.
When constructing a project, in addition to the issue of
construction quality as well as economic efficiency, the
construction unit is more appreciated when it comes to
occupational safety for their own workers. The construction unit
has certain responsibilities for the labor safety assurance of
construction workers such as: purchase accident insurance, labor
protection equipment, propaganda and training to improve
workers' awareness. This not only contributes to minimizing
unfortunate accidents that affect the quality of construction works,
but also builds up the reliability of the construction unit on the
market.
The issue of occupational safety and sanitation is specified very
specifically in the Labor Code, the Labor Safety Law, the
Construction Law, etc. the system of technical regulations on
occupational safety and health for machines, equipment and
works have been issued. (Construction Law, Labor Code, National
Technical Regulation on Safety in Construction QCVN
18:2014/BXD) [2], National technical regulation on occupational
safety for lifting equipment: QCVN 07: 2012/BLDTBXH [3]; QCVN:
02/2011/BLDTBXH- National technical regulation on occupational
safety for electric elevators; QCVN 12:2013/BLDTBXH - National
technical regulation on occupational safety for suspended working
floors; QCVN 13:2013/BLDTBXH- National technical regulation on
occupational safety for Electric panels; QCVN 16:2013/BLDTBXHNational technical regulation on occupational safety for hoisting
machines; QCVN 18:2014/BXD-National technical regulation on

safety in construction of the Ministry of Construction; QCVN
29:2016/BLDTBXH-The National Technical Regulation on
occupational safety for cranes of the Ministry of Labor outlines the
technical, organizational and safety measures. But in fact, many
occupational accidents occur due to a lack of design documents
and lack of labor protection measures.
In addition, because the construction is carried out in a wide
space, conditions and terrain as well as different weather, workers
often work at high altitude, in contact with a variety of specialized
machinery and equipment. There are many risks of occupational
accidents resulting in loss of life and property. The main reason is

ISSN 2734-9888

03.2021

55


NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC

due to the limited capacity of the construction units, the expertise
and experience have not met the requirements, or the contractor
chooses inappropriate or unsatisfactory construction plans and
measures compared to the actual construction conditions in terms
of space and time; Subjective, failure to inspect, fail to promptly reevaluate the safety and stability conditions of works before
organizing the construction; Do not take up safety response
measures in unsafe situations.
3.3. General assessment of the current situation of
applying regulations and standards in construction and design

of construction works in the Mekong Delta
a. Strength:
Scale and coverage of the system of regulations and standards
in construction and design of our country's construction works are
increasingly expanding.
The proportion of national standards that are in harmony with
international standards is increasing.
The ratio of standards in construction and design of our
country's construction is being reviewed on schedule.
The correct application of regulations and standards in
construction and design of construction works has brought great
efficiency to the construction industry in particular, for the country
in general.
b. Weakness:
The coverage of the system of regulations and standards in
construction and design of construction works has not covered all
construction fields such as construction standards on soft ground,
construction standards specific to the Mekong Delta, etc.
The proportion of national standards that are in harmony with
international standards is increasing, but the efficiency is not high.
A number of regulations and standards in construction and
design of construction works have not been properly reviewed.
There are no statistics on the correct application of regulations
and standards in the construction and design of construction
works, which brings economic benefits.
c. Opportunity:
Applying appropriate construction regulations and standards
in construction and design will bring about high efficiency in the
quality of the work.
The system of regulations and standards in construction and

design of construction works will clearly be the basis for easy
management and implementation of all levels.
d. Challenge:
Lack of strategy to develop a system of regulations and
standards in construction and design of construction works.
The development of the system of regulations and standards in
construction and design of construction works still has many
shortcomings.
The financial source for building a system of regulations and
standards in construction and design of construction works is
inadequate and limited.
Human resources are insufficient and weak.
The mobilization and cooperation between stakeholders is still
limited.
The connection between local documents and national
standards is overlapping.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Unlike the compulsory regulations in QCVN, TCVN is a type of
legal document under the law, mainly voluntarily applied but with
a lot of content that is mandatory, because it cannot be detailed in
in QCVN.

56

03.2021

ISSN 2734-9888

Therefore, the construction requires scientific, serious, coupled
with both meeting the needs and practical conditions of Vietnam

and absorbing the civilization of the world - To be able to become
an effective tool in state management, at the same time an
effective tool, accompanying engineers and subjects and
individuals operating in the construction field.
On the basis of assessing the application of design and
construction regulations and standards for works in the Mekong
Delta (advantages and disadvantages), The authors analyze
challenges and propose solutions to improve the efficiency of
applying design and construction standards for Mekong Delta
projects.
REFERENCES
[1]. Ministry of Construction (2017), Construction works use energy efficiently,
QCVN 09/2017/BXD
[2]. Ministry of Construction (2014), safety in construction, QCVN 18-2014 /BXD
[3]. Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (2012), Labor safety for lifting
equipment. QCVN 07-2012/BLĐTBXH
[4]. Ministry of Science and technology (1995), Compulsory standards applicable to

each part of concrete structures and full-block reinforced concrete - construction and
acceptance rules, TCVN 4453-1995.
[5]. Ministry of Science and technology (2005), TCVN 4054-2005. Motorway Design Requirements
[6]. Ministry of Science and technology (2012), TCVN 5729-2012. High-speed
motorways-Design requirements.
[7]. Ministry of Science and technology (2018), TCVN 8216-2018. Irrigation works Design compacted earth dam
[8]. Ministry of Science and technology (2018), TCVN 8474-2018. Irrigation works Composition and volume of topographic survey during project formulation and design
phases
[9]. Ministry of Science and technology (2012), TCVN 4055-2012. Organization of
construction
[10]. Ministry of Science and technology (2018), TCVN 5574-2018. Structural design
of concrete and reinforced concrete

[11]. Ministry of Science and technology (2014), TCVN 10304-2014. Pile foundations design standards
[12]. Congress (2006), Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, No. 68/2006
/ QH11 dated June 29, 2006
[13]. Congress (2014), Law on Construction No. 50/2014 / QH13 dated June 18,
2014.